NBA Sharp Betting Picks (Dec. 20): Pros Playing Knicks vs. Heat, Pelicans vs. Warriors

As bowl season kicks off Friday afternoon into the evening, basketball will have to take a back seat in the betting world over the next couple days. But whether or not the NBA attracts a heavy dose of bettors has nothing to do with the amount of value it offers.

In fact, sharps have made it clear that two plays on tonight's slate have been worth betting, starting with one from the Knicks' visit to Miami.

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Knicks vs. Heat

8 p.m. ET

The Knicks (7-21) and Heat (20-8) boast nearly opposite win-loss records, which makes it understandable that oddsmakers would separate them by double-digits in South Beach tonight. It also makes it unsurprising to find a heavy majority (78%) of bettors laying the points with the better team.

What may come as a surprise, though, is that this line is no longer of the double-digit variety. The Knicks are down to 9.5-point underdogs after opening at +11 thanks to some sharp activity on the road dogs.

The Knicks' 22% backing has generated 43% of actual money hitting the spread, meaning bigger bets — the ones more likely to come from sharps — are landing on New York.

Confirming that, seven Sports Insights Bet Signals (which track and record instances of market-moving action in real time) have hit the Knicks, the three most recent of which came at +10 to drive the line down to +9.5.

Sharp angle: Knicks (moved from +11 to +9.5)

Pelicans vs. Warriors

10:30 p.m. ET

As it did in the game above, it's pretty common for the sharp angle to come on the side opposing the majority of bettors. However, there are certainly times where public bettors and sharps come to an agreement, and this total — for now — looks like one of them.

Sixty-five percent of bets accounting for 85% of money has hit the under in tonight's final matchup, once again revealing the opinion of bigger (probably sharper) bettors.

Three SI Bet Signals have also hit the under, causing the line to revert back down after an initial rise from the opening number of 224 up to 225.5. It now sits at 222 across most of the market.

Sharp angle: Under (moved from 225.5 to 222)